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Homenavigate_nextIssuesnavigate_nextBackissuesnavigate_nextVolume 31, No.1navigate_nextAn Analysis to the Interactive Pattern of Political Factions and Gangsters in Taipei County
An Analysis to the Interactive Pattern of Political Factions and Gangsters in Taipei County
It is generally believed that some political factions are patrons to gangsters in Taiwan's local politics. In order to investigate this proposition we chose Taipei County as a case study. We define the gangsters are those who were convicted by the Preventive Provisions Against Organized Crimes. There are 1 4 this sort of persons right now in Taipei and Tauyuan jails. We have interviewed with all these gangsters. Complementarily, we also have interviewed with 8 police officials whose major duty is responsible to gang affairs. Moreover, we have interviewed with other 19 people, mostly who are politicians in Taipei country. The informants, especially gang criminals, confirm that within the campaigning, they help to do vote-buying, mobilize voters and consolidate voters' supports for some certain candidates. More importantly, some of these candidates are politicians in local factions. But, politicians in any local faction might be gangsters; local political factions are never gangs. Local faction and gang are not the head and tail of a coin. Therefore, the determinant of Taipei County politics is still at the hands of local factions and not belonging to gangs. However, the coefficient relationship between the candidates with gang background and their vote rates are significantly positive. It reveals that there is a serious problem in Taiwan's local politics of gangster's participation into election. Paradoxically, there is no significant coefficient among the dependent variable--vote rate and the independent variables-gang background, political party and faction. It tells us that even a gangster with the nomination from a political party or in the recommendation of any local faction may not have benefits from it. Gangsters win elections only because of themselves. To conclude, if a political party or a local political faction wants to make a clear-cut demarcation with gangsters, it is possible and will not get damage from it.
